Press Release - Avid to Join Russell 3000 Index

BURLINGTON, MA, Avid® (Nasdaq:AVID) announced on June 29th of 2015 that the Company has joined the broad-market Russell 3000Ò Index at the conclusion of the Russell indexes annual reconstitution (Russell website) on June 26, 2015.

Annual Russell indexes reconstitution captures the 4,000 largest U.S. stocks as of the end of May, ranking them by total market capitalization. Membership in the Russell 3000, which remains in place for one year, means automatic inclusion in the large-cap Russell 1000Ò Index or small-cap Russell 2000Ò Index as well as the appropriate growth and value style indexes. FTSE Russell determines membership for its Russell indexes primarily by objective, market-capitalization rankings and style attributes.

“We are pleased to join the Russell 3000 Index” said John Frederick, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer of Avid.   “We continue to make great progress in the transformation of the Company and are focused on addressing some of the most critical issues the media industry faces today all while working on creating value for our shareholders.”

Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for active investment strategies. Approximately $5.7 trillion in assets are benchmarked to the Russell’s U.S. indexes. Russell indexes are part of FTSE Russell, a leading global index provider.

For more information on the Russell reconstitution, go to “Recon Central” section on the FTSE Russell website.

About Avid

Through Avid Everywhere™, Avid delivers the industry's most open, innovative and comprehensive media platform connecting content creation with collaboration, asset protection, distribution and consumption for the most listened to, most watched and most loved media in the world—from the most prestigious and award-winning feature films, music recordings, and television shows, to live concerts and news broadcasts. Industry leading solutions include Pro Tools®, Media Composer®, ISIS®, Interplay®, and Sibelius®. For more information about Avid solutions and services, visit www.avid.com, connect with Avid on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn; or subscribe to Avid Blogs.

About FTSE Russell:

FTSE Russell is a global index leader that provides innovative benchmarking, analytics and data solutions for investors worldwide. FTSE Russell calculates thousands of indexes that measure and benchmark markets and asset classes in more than 80 countries, covering 98% of the investable market globally and trading on over 25 exchanges worldwide.

FTSE Russell index expertise and products are used extensively by institutional and retail investors globally. Leading asset owners, asset managers, ETF providers and investment banks use FTSE Russell indexes to benchmark their investment performance and create ETFs, structured products and index-based derivatives.

A core set of universal principles guides FTSE Russell index design and management: a transparent rules-based methodology is informed by independent committees of leading market participants. FTSE Russell is focused on applying the highest industry standards in index design and governance. FTSE Russell is also focused on index innovation and client collaboration as it seeks to enhance the breadth, depth and reach of its offering.

FTSE Russell is wholly owned by London Stock Exchange Group. For more information, visit www.ftserussell.com. 

Press Release- Sennheiser Completes Fiscal Year 2014 with Record Sales

Sennheiser Completes Fiscal Year 2014 with Record Sales

Wedemark, Germany, The Sennheiser Group presented its annual results for fiscal year 2014 on July 8th of 2015: compared to the previous year, total sales at the audio specialist rose by 44.3 million euros to 634.8 million euros, representing an increase of around 7.5 percent. Net earnings also increased by 20.4 million euros to a total of 34.7 million euros. The company, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2015, grew in all regions worldwide – and Sennheiser significantly increased its sales in Asia and Australia in particular.

With this further increase in sales revenue in fiscal year 2014, the Sennheiser Group is sustaining the continuous rise in sales seen in recent years.

"We are very pleased to see a new record result," said Dr. Frank Heinricht, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG. "The positive sales development in all regions has once again confirmed the strategic orientation of the company." The CEOs of Sennheiser GmbH & Co. KG were also delighted by the figures: "This excellent result is the consequence of our long-term strategy which we aim to continue in the future," said Dr. Andreas Sennheiser. "We would like to thank all our employees for their commitment. It is them who have made this success possible," Daniel Sennheiser added.

Worldwide growth – strong APAC region

Sales at the Sennheiser Group increased in all regions worldwide. More than half of the company's total sales in fiscal year 2014 were generated in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa), which recorded stable growth of 2.1 percent. Business in the Americas region (North, Central and South America) also saw a positive development – in this region, sales increased by 4.0 percent. Having grown by 30.9 percent, the APAC region (Asia and Australia) made a significant contribution towards increasing overall sales. In addition to the newly formed sales subsidiary for Australia and New Zealand, the region benefited to a large extent from the Digital Dividend in Japan, where public funds were made available to convert wireless microphone systems to enable them to use new frequency ranges.    

Overall, the company generated around 85 percent of its total sales revenue outside the German market. The Sennheiser Group currently has 21 subsidiaries, of which 18 are sales subsidiaries, in more than 50 countries worldwide. Further expansion of its global business activity will continue to be one of the audio specialist's strategic objectives in the future.

Business divisions with balanced shares of sales

The Consumer and Professional Systems Divisions are almost equal in their proportion of total sales. The Consumer Division had sales totalling 322.0 million euros, while the Professional Systems Division was only slightly below, at 312.8 million euros. Compared to the previous year, both divisions enjoyed a further significant rise in sales, increasing by 7.1 percent and 7.9 percent respectively.

Sustainable investment in research and development

Compared to the previous year, investment in research and development in 2014 rose by 6.4 percent to 44.3 million euros. This equals 6.8 percent of the total sales revenue of the Sennheiser Group. Increased investment in this sector was also reflected in the number of employees. Compared to 323 employees worldwide in 2013, the number of people employed in this sector rose by 4.6 percent to 338 in fiscal year 2014. This means that around 13 percent of the total workforce is employed in research and development. "For us, this is a clear sign of our commitment to further strengthening innovative capacity at Sennheiser," said Dr. Andreas Sennheiser. "As a family business, we have the advantage of being able to pursue a long-term and sustainable strategy."

One focus of the current research activities at Sennheiser is on the further development of "3D Immersive Audio" technology, which provides a unique spatial sound experience. As part of these activities, several classical recordings and sound installations were carried out during the year, in addition to other projects.    

Product developments reflected the latest trends in the audio sector and were oriented essentially towards the customers' needs. In particular, Sennheiser's new product worlds are characterized by wireless technologies, multiconnectivity, system integration and intelligent audio connections as well as high-definition audio and individual audio solutions.       

A strong position for future innovations

In order to further promote the spirit of innovation and cooperation between teams throughout the company, Sennheiser is increasingly focusing on the further development of internal working structures and processes. One flagship project is the recently inaugurated Innovation Campus at the company's headquarters in Wedemark: with 7,000 square metres of usable space, it is the largest and most modern innovation center in the audio industry. Since March 2015, it has been providing interdisciplinary teams with space for joint research on pioneering audio solutions. "Our new Innovation Campus enables us to set new standards in the audio industry," explained Daniel Sennheiser. "In this environment we develop audio solutions that are optimally tailored to meet the individual wishes of our customers."

With the new formation of Sennheiser Streaming Technologies GmbH (SST), the Sennheiser Group is also expanding its core business with the addition of a Competence Centre for the development of innovative streaming solutions.

Further investment in human resources and family-friendliness

At the end of 2014, the Sennheiser Group had around 2,700 employees – the average figure for the year was 2,600. Approximately 51 percent of the workforce is employed at the companies located in Germany, while 41 percent is employed at the companies abroad.

Sennheiser continued to invest in a family-friendly working environment for its employees in 2014. In August, the audio specialist opened the company's own child day-care center (called "Ohrwürmchen") at its headquarters in Wedemark. The day-care center provides a total of 30 spots for children from the ages of six months to three years, available to both employees and families outside the company. "We consider it our responsibility to support our employees in improving the compatibility of work and family life," said Dr. Andreas Sennheiser. "This not only contributes to a better working atmosphere but also improves our performance."

Outlook for 2015

Overall, the Sennheiser Group expects fiscal year 2015 to show a further increase in sales revenue and an ongoing positive development in net earnings compared to the previous year. "We began 2015 very successfully and have already been able to present the first product highlights to our customers," said Daniel Sennheiser. These include, among others, the new generation of the successful MOMENTUM range and an extension of the URBANITE product family as well as the evolution wireless D1 digital microphone series for the live music sector, SpeechLine DW for speech applications and AVX for crystal-clear video sound recordings. "It remains our mission to market pioneering products in technological perfection which are optimally tailored to the needs of our customers," explained Daniel Sennheiser. "Our existing product portfolio and our targeted investment in the innovation of new technologies ensure that Sennheiser is ideally equipped to achieve this objective."

About Sennheiser

Audio specialist Sennheiser is one of the world's leading manufacturers of headphones, microphones and wireless transmission systems. Based in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, Sennheiser operates its own production facilities in Germany, Ireland and the USA and is active in more than 50 countries. With 18 sales subsidiaries and long-established trading partners, the company supplies innovative products and cutting-edge audio solutions that are optimally tailored to its customers' needs. Sennheiser is a family owned company that was founded in 1945 and which today has 2,700 employees around the world that share a passion for audio technology. Since 2013, Sennheiser has been managed by Daniel Sennheiser and Dr. Andreas Sennheiser, the third generation of the family to run the company. In 2014, the Sennheiser Group had sales totalling €635 million. www.sennheiser.com

Press Release - Hal Leonard has published Electronic Dance Music Grooves.

Montclair, NJ - June 30, 2015 - Hal Leonard has published Electronic Dance Music Grooves. This new Quick Pro Guide provides creative insights to understand how to build exciting, powerful, and compelling EDM grooves. Ableton Live Certified Trainer, and noted EDM performer Josh Bess helps the reader take their skills to the next level with an extremely efficient and intelligent groove-making system for techno, trance, dubstep, drum 'n' bass, garage, trap, or hip-hop music. Accompanying each groove, fill, and transition is a MIDI map, designed to make it simple to use the included grooves and samples with virtually any modern DAW. Whether your preferred DAW is Ableton Live, Reason, Pro Tools, Logic, or almost any of the other popular music production and performance software applications, you'll quickly be equipped to incorporate these grooves and samples into your own creative workflow. Electronic Dance Music Grooves includes over 300 professional-quality drum and effects samples, more than 300 drum grooves and MIDI files, 17 Ableton Live Drum Racks, and much more, all provided to support creativity and EDM production. Samples and sessions are delivered online to provide access to all of the content, whether you're using a desktop, laptop, or mobile device. Electronic Dance Music Grooves $24.99 (US) Inventory #HL 00128989 ISBN: 9781480393769 Width: 8.37", length: 11.0", 264 pages About the Author: JOSH BESS is a percussionist, electronic performing artist, and Ableton Certified Trainer. Performing with multiple artists and employing a wide variety of styles, he is experienced in jazz, funk, Latin, pop, rock, and more. In addition to performing, Bess developed an interest in music production and went on to earn his college degree in audio engineering and jazz commercial performance. He has fused his knowledge and his ear for audio production with his percussive background to develop an efficient and creative electronic workflow-a combination that he regularly puts to work in his compositions and live performances. For more information, visit www.joshbess.net. For more information, please visit http://www.halleonardbooks.com

Press Release - Prof. Dr. Jörg Sennheiser was presented with the coveted Deutsche Gründerpreis 2015 (German Founders Award)

Berlin, Germany, Prof. Dr. Jörg Sennheiser was presented with the coveted Deutsche Gründerpreis 2015 (German Founders Award) in the Lifetime Achievement category for his many years of service as head of Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG and his commitment to entrepreneurs and start-up enterprises. Since 2002, the joint initiative by the magazine stern, the Sparkassen savings banks, the broadcaster ZDF and the car maker Porsche has presented the award to persons with exemplary achievements in setting up and developing innovative and sustainable business ideas and companies. The award ceremony is held every year at the ZDF studio in Berlin.

The jury of the Deutsche Gründerpreis particularly praised the successful expansion of what was initially a more nationally focused audio specialist into a globally successful company, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.   Furthermore, the experts were impressed by Jörg Sennheiser's prudent succession planning and long-standing support for start-up enterprises. The Lifetime Achievement award came as "a real surprise", Jörg Sennheiser said. "It is a great honor for me to see that the pursuit of perfect sound, which has accompanied me throughout my entire life, is being recognized with this award." 

The courage to follow new paths

After completing his doctorate at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich, Jörg Sennheiser originally planned to start his career at Siemens. But in 1976, at the age of 32, he decided to join the family company founded by his father Prof. Dr. Fritz Sennheiser, taking on the post of Technical Director – which was also a matter of self-determination for the trained engineer: "At Siemens, the career steps were very clearly specified, and here I had more opportunities," he recalls. In 1982, he took over complete responsibility for Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG from his father.

During his time as CEO of Sennheiser, Jörg Sennheiser modernized the structures of the company and introduced, among other things, job descriptions and strategic planning for the entire company. Furthermore, he professionalized the company's financial accounting in order to prepare Sennheiser for its entry into the global market. One of his most far-reaching and at the same time most successful decisions was the carefully planned establishment of the company's own sales subsidiaries, starting with the opening of Sennheiser France – the first of now 18 sales subsidiaries worldwide. "As a result, we are closer to our customers and less susceptible to crises," he explained.

Like his father before him, Jörg Sennheiser also further advanced the technical development of microphones and headphones, fully in keeping with the company's philosophy of the pursuit of perfect sound. "One must never look back," he said, "but must always initiate the next revolution at the right time." He regularly spent time with musicians in order to understand the wishes and needs of the customers even better. As a result, his leadership resulted in numerous award-winning new developments that offer a level of sound quality that even today never fails to astonish the audio world.

With an eye on the future

Jörg Sennheiser took his usual systematic approach when it came to succession planning. In 1996, he withdrew from operative business and, at the age of 51, became the "very active" chairman of the supervisory board. He never put pressure on his two sons Daniel and Andreas to join the company: Daniel first pursued a career in marketing, while the younger son Andreas started his career as an electrical engineer. In the end, however, both of them decided to continue the family tradition. Today, as the third generation, Daniel and Dr. Andreas Sennheiser are successfully heading Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG with its approximately 2,700 employees worldwide.

Jörg Sennheiser, now 70 years old, remained as chairman of the supervisory board until December 2014, in the company that he had so decisively influenced for almost 40 years. Even today, he is still an active member of the supervisory board. He continues to give lectures and represent the family company on important occasions and, for many years, he has been advising young acoustics specialists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich on business start-ups. In addition, he supports projects relating to all aspects of sound, such as the Pop Institute at Hannover University of Music, Drama and Media, the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts or the modernisation of Germany's largest concert hall, the Kuppelsaal in Hannover.

The Deutsche Gründerpreis: Promoting a Spirit of Enterprise

The Deutsche Gründerpreis (German Founders Award) is Germany's most prestigious award for outstanding entrepreneurs and has been presented annually since 2002 in the categories Student, Start-Up, Climbers and Lifetime Achievement. The aim of the award, which is presented jointly by the magazine stern, the Sparkassen savings banks, the broadcaster ZDF and the car maker Porsche, is to promote a positive entrepreneurial climate in Germany. The nominees and award winners are supported by a board of trustees which was established in 2006 and is made up of high-ranking business representatives and also includes former award-winners. With this Lifetime Achievement award, Prof. Dr. Jörg Sennheiser stands alongside other renowned German entrepreneurs and visionaries, such as Heinrich Deichmann, Günther Fielmann, the founder of dm Götz W. Werner and the former chairman of Bertelsmann AG Reinhard Mohn.

About Sennheiser

The Sennheiser Group based in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, was founded in 1945 and has gone on to become a leading manufacturer of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. Sales in 2013 totaled 590.4 million euros. Sennheiser employs more than 2,700 staff worldwide and operates plants in Germany, Ireland and the USA. The company has a worldwide network of subsidiaries in France, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Germany, Denmark (Nordic), Russia, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, and the USA. It also has long-established trading partners in other countries. Georg Neumann GmbH, Berlin, a maker of studio microphones and monitor speakers, and Sennheiser Communications A/S, a joint venture making headsets for PCs, offices and call centers, are also part of the Sennheiser Group.

More information about Sennheiser is available at www.sennheiser.com.

Press Release - DirectOuts MADI Analyzer and Signal Generator Debuts ‘ANNA-LISA’

Press Release : German interconnectivity and audio transport specialists, DirectOut, are pleased to introduce a brand-new must-have tool for everyone that works with MADI – ANNA-LISA made her debut outside Europe at 137th AES Convention in L.A..

ANNA-LISA is a small, handheld MADI analyser and signal generator equipped with BNC and SFP MADI I/Os that provides straightforward, immediate analysis of any MADI input. Signal condition, input level and jitter can be monitored directly at the device. More detailed information, such as protocol and user bit checks, is accessible through an external application via USB and Bluetooth. The integrated signal generator makes ANNA-LISA a convenient, all-round tool for any MADI environment. The device is powered by an integrated battery and chargeable via USB.

Over the past five years, DirectOut has acquired an excellent reputation as an audio transport specialist providing all kinds of converters, routers and little problem solvers for MADI environments. The development of ANNA-LISA, a comprehensive yet compact measurement tool to enable mobile quality control and error tracking for engineers working with MADI out in the field, is thus a logical step for the company. “In mobile broadcasting and recording as well as live sound applications, it is crucial to know the quality of all MADI connections in the setup”, states CTO Stephan Flock. “With ANNA-LISA we are excited to provide a unique new tool which not only makes it possible to track down protocol issues, but moreover is able to provide a qualitative analysis of the physical condition of a MADI connection. Engineers will wonder how they ever managed without it!“

For further details, please visit www.directout.eu